From joy to fury

JOY gave way to grief and anger yesterday when a West Virginia coal town learned that 12 of 13 miners trapped in a mine explosion had died.

Three hours earlier, friends and relatives had been told that all but one had survived.

One man survived after being trapped since Monday’s blast at the Sago Mine and was hospitalised in critical condition. Randal McCloy, 27, was being treated for a kidney dysfunction but was described by doctors as conscious and relatively stable.

The way the tragic news of the deaths of the dozen miners was conveyed angered many family members who had stood vigil at a nearby church.

“I feel that we were lied to all along,” said Anne Meredith, whose father died in the incident, adding that she planned to sue the mine owner, International Coal Group.

News of the 12 deaths came hours after church bells pealed and friends and family of the miners celebrated and sang hymns when word spread that 12 miners had survived.

The state governor said there were indications within 20 minutes the initial report of a dozen survivors was wrong. However, friends and family were not told for about three hours.

The sadness and fury that came after news of the 12 deaths contrasted with earlier jubilation after a man burst into nearby Sago Baptist Church where family members were holding vigil, shouting, “It’s a miracle, it’s a miracle!” and saying the 12 men had been found alive.

Virginia Dean, whose uncle was in the mine, said: “Only one lived. They lied.” Ben Hatfield, president of ICG, blamed the earlier report on a miscommunication. He said the company had then waited until it could determine which of the miners were dead or alive to tell the families.

Several newspapers splashed headlines such as “Miracle in the Mine” on their front pages, which went to press before the truth emerged. !

Rescue workers on Tuesday night had located the 12, trapped about 4,000 metres inside the mine since 6.30am (11.30am Irish time) on Monday.

Mr McCloy, was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition. West Virginia University Hospital doctor Lawrence Roberts told a news conference Mr McCloy’s collapsed lung had re-expanded and that he had communicated with his wife.

Dr Roberts said laying down for a long period and suffering from dehydration had affected his kidneys.

“The good news is that every other bodily function test that we do is quite stable,” he said.

Mr McCloy’s sister Lila Muncy said her brother, a father of two, had worked for about three years in the mine.

“He was always very cautious,” she told CNN. “Every morning he would tell his wife, ‘God bless you,’ before he left to work because he always knew the danger.”

Terry Helms, found dead near the site of the explosion, was the first of the missing men to be discovered. The discovery of an empty transport car farther away fuelled hopes the 12 other men had escaped to an area free of toxic gas.

Officials said the 12 survived the blast itself and retreated deeper into the mine and hung up a curtain-like barrier to keep out toxic gases while they waited to be rescued.

How long they survived was not immediately disclosed. But on Tuesday morning, rescuers drilled a narrow hole near the spot and got no response when they banged on a steel pipe and listened for an answer.